BLUE JEAN VEIN

Intermittent changes do take place,
Whether on earth or in outer space.
Estimation of manâ€™s ability proved wrong,
An August occasion or was it in July?
Rough block of stone, turned to salt.
Much ado about nothing, your Grace.
Young people open-eyed to things,That
Jades even the most innocent of lambs.
Eve had her apple, and Adam had his eye,
Approbation was given by the serpent.
Numbers of the first column,
Seven times seven doesnâ€™t always equal forty-nine.
Expressly repudiate the churchâ€™s teaching;
Vacuous minds are a thing of the present.
Estimation of manâ€™s ability proved right,
Rabble of the city took note.
Young shoots of new grass, firmly planted,
Wither and die from lack of water.
Harmonious morning chorus of birds,
Enjoying life, singing songs so gay.
Ready to leave at a momentâ€™s notice.
Estimation of manâ€™s ability proved neither.
Individuality is what made this man.
Goaded by a desire to keep warm in the wet fields,
Onerous burden,he accepted and won it all.

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”